NovembiT 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



chasers for the lands, for which prices asked of the government were 

 considered unreasonable by tho Forest Service oflicers. 



Small Mills Handicapped 

 Many small mills are seeking to get into the lumber trade 

 emergency bureaus, but when they come to explain their facilities 

 they generally find that the government specifications cannot be 

 complied with, because they call for finished material and in 

 lengths and widths wliich small mills do not generally cut in 

 quantity. While some small mills might be able to get out the 

 stuff if they had unlimited time for doing it, it is explained that 

 Uncle Sam cannot wait while the Prussian mad dog is running at 

 large. 



A. P. Smith, secretary of the National Wholesale Sash and Door 

 Association, was in Washington recently and estimated that his 

 association had distributed among its members orders ^rom the 

 goviTnment for between a million and a half and two million 

 dollars' worth of sash and doors for the army cantonment build- 

 ings. These orders are well filled now and Mr. Smith expects 

 additional government business here and abroad. He said that the 

 Washington office will look after the details connected with gov- 

 ernment contracts and keep in touch with the situation. 



Horace Taylor of Taylor & Crate, Buffalo, N. Y., is Mr. Down- 

 man 's assistant on hardwoods and expects to remain at Washing- 

 ton until the end of the war. Hardwood purchases for the gov- 

 ernment and the allies will be passed upon by Mr. Taylor and his 

 associates. 



Lumbcrmon engaged on government business here have been 

 cautioued against talking about orders placed with them, especially 

 for export to France for American military purposes. It is feared 

 that knowledge of such purchases may reach German spies, who 

 can take steps to get the information to German submarines or to 

 crooks in this country who might practice sabotage at the mills 

 or elsewhere before the material leave American ports. It is under- 

 stood that orders for millions of feet of lumber are being placed 

 for export on government account. 



It is reported that representatives of vehicle and implement 

 wood interests ^e opening an office in Washington to keep in 

 touch with government developments. 



A new series of aviation schools is about to be constructed for 

 the United States army which will call for many millions of feet 

 of lumber. 



Commandeering 

 It is said that the only commandeer order issued under the war 

 power of the government has been directed toward getting ship 

 timbers, although there have been reports of commandeering air- 

 plane spruce. 



For the first time the war powers of this government are being 

 exerted to compel the production of material for an allied govern- 

 ment. This instance arose when the Douglas Fir Emergency 

 Bureau advised the Council of National Defense that it might not 

 be able to supply about 25,000,000 feet of fir for airplane stock 

 for the Italian government and 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 feet of 

 airplane stock for the British government. Orders for this material 

 had been received some time before and there had been delay ow- 

 ing to labor troubles. 



When the fir people made known their attitude, the case was 

 put up to Director of Lumber Downman, who after consulting with 

 certain officials, served notice on the fir bureau that the material 

 must be furnished. His notice was based on action by the war 

 industries board, which is said to have the commandeering power. 

 That the government should not go very much further in fixing 

 prices of important commodities is the belief of high officials of 

 the Council or National Defense, which probably means that lum- 

 ber prices will not be fixed by' government action for the present 

 at least. 



The defense council has decided that there is not legislative 

 authority for the government to deal with the housing question as 

 was proposed by the special committee on housing. Legislation 

 may be sought later with a view to securing co-operation between 

 the Federal Government and local communities and government 



contractors in the matter of providing housing facilities for the 

 increasing army of workmen on war orders. Meanwhile, however, 

 each department of the government which has large war contracts 

 out will do what it can to meet the scarcity of housing. The 

 shipping board and some other departments, it is stated, have 

 authority to pay contractors doing their jobs for expenses in- 

 curred in providing houses for their workmen. The reimbursing 

 will be part of the contract price for the shipbuilding or other 

 war job. 



Non-Essential Articles 



Officers of the government Iiave been talking for some time 

 about the necessity of curtailing unessential industries. This 

 question became perhaps critical when the Railroads' War Board 

 announced tho other day that it had submitted to Judge Lovett, 

 priority commissioner under the council of defense, and Dr. Harry 

 Garfield, fuel administrator, a list of 525 commodities which the 

 railroads did not deem essential, with the suggestion that they be 

 denied transportation or required to wait until essential supplies 

 and materials have all been shipped. This would have been equiva- 

 lent to prevent shipment altogether, as the railroads practically 

 admit that they cannot carry all the things necessary for the con- 

 duct of the war. 



Immediately floods of inquiries came to Washington from busi- 

 ness men in all lines wanting to know if their products were un- 

 essential. The list considered unessential by the railroads could 

 not be obtained of the railroad people or at the council of defense, 

 it being stated at the latter place that they are not engaged in 

 making panics, and that no list of essential or unessential in- 

 dustries would be published by the government. 



The Forestry Regiment 



Lumbermen Who have recently joined the war service of the 

 country in the Twentieth Engineer regiment include George A. 

 Bentley, who was in charge of the division of maintenance in the 

 Forest Service headquarters at Washington. He has been made 

 captain in the ordnance branch of the army and is serving on duty 

 in connection with the purchase of material for this very im- 

 portant bureau, which is far larger in size now than the whole 

 War Department was before the war. 



R. T. Demsey of the Long Bell Lumber Company, who was for 

 some time executive secretary of the priority committee of the 

 war industry board, Council of National Defense, has gone back 

 to the Southwest, being succeeded by Mr. Gaegan as secretary of 

 the committee. 



Knowlton Mixer of Buffalo and Walter Morrison of Minneapolis, 

 retired lumbermen, have volunteered for Red Cross service and 

 will take charge of branch depots of the organization in France 

 for handling relief supplies for soldiers and civilians. 



F. G. Wisner, chief assistant to R. H. Downman, director of 

 lumber in the purchasing section of the war industries board, 

 has at last left for a vacation, the first in several years. He went 

 to Clinton, Iowa, to visit his mother. 



Ammunition Boxes 



Lieut. H. N. Knowlton of the Ordniuice Reserve Corps, an old 

 Forest Service man, is in charge of work in connection with speci- 

 fications for wooden boxes for the ordnance brandi of the army. 

 Lieut. Knowlton has recently completed specifications for boxes 

 for shipping ordnance equipment, and is now studying the matter 

 of boxes for shells and other ammunition. These latter boxes 

 never have been standardized, it is said, and they present quite a 

 problem, owing to the many different sizes of shells and varieties 

 of ammunition. A diff(»iont box is now required for each type of 

 ammunition. 



For a long' time the ordnance department specified only white 

 pine for b'oxes, but under the new specifications prepared by Lieut. 

 Knowlton, many different kinds of hard and other woods can be 

 used. The woods are grouped according to their weight, the 

 heavier varieties being permitted to be used in box making for 

 shipping he.avy materials, and the lighter woods for lighter boxes. 

 Lieut. Knowlton says that weight and nailing are the secrets of 

 success in boxes for army pnrjioscs. Tlic Forest Service tests 



